


Blood and Bane

by rageragethedyingofthelight



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Android Revolution, Anxiety, Canon Universe, Character Development, Depression, Deviancy, Dom/sub Undertones, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Elijah Kamski Being an Asshole, Eventual Smut, Everyone hurts, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gavin Reed/RK900 - Freeform, Hate Sex, Loss, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mild Gore, Mild Suicidal Ideation, Nines - Freeform, Pre-Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Sex Worker Androids (Detroit: Become Human), Stripper!AU, Strippers, Violence, gavin's sad backstory, handjobs, hank anderson needs a nap, in the closet, reed900
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 15:53:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16835764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rageragethedyingofthelight/pseuds/rageragethedyingofthelight
Summary: Another origin story of self-discovery, of two brothers at war, of triumph and tragedy, and of a wretch finding redemption in the strangest of places.





	Blood and Bane

**Author's Note:**

> SO. Yes. We're gonna be watching our boy Gavin growing up into the lovable dick he is. This story focuses on Gavin's character and how he came to be - it's a buildup that leads to an unexpected end but overall it's a story of change and how it's never too late to become someone else.  
> I kinda tweaked the timeline around in some spots to work out the story, but hey.
> 
> (yes there are some smexy Nines/Gavin moments, but it'll be a bit closer to the ending. Some gay stuff gonna be in the middle tho so LOL enjoy)  
> (also yes the broken android heart is Simon's :') )
> 
> (quote taken from Lois McMaster Bujold)

_Friday, October 7, 2039_  
_4:00 pm_  
_Detroit Police Department_

Right now, Gavin Reed wants nothing more than to go home, flop on his couch with a cold beer, and fucking _die._

His shift's about to end and every passing second digs invisible nails into his skin deeper and deeper. He’s checked his email seven times in the past hour, sharpened a pencil until it broke and sharpened it again until it hit the eraser, bent five paper clips into little stars, and yet he can’t fight the static anxiety gnawing on his brain. The little clock at the bottom corner of his computer screen is covered by a pink Post-It note, reading _dont fuckin_ _peek_ in faded pencil.

The room is reigned by a sort of quiet chaos that hangs in the air, trapped and weary. Someone presses a button at the water cooler, gurgling just a bit too loud and an office chair squeaks as someone sits down a little too heavily. A sneeze breaks the fog for a second, followed by a lethargic chorus of “bless you”s and an equally tired “thanks”.

Gavin stares at his chickenscratch handwriting on neon pink paper until his eyes burn, willing the minutes forward, and tries to ignore the overwhelming temptation to peel the sticker off his screen and crumple it in his fingers.

He can’t help it. He peeks.

Today, Gavin is turning thirty-seven years old and he doesn't expect to be congratulated for it. His birthday, like all his other birthdays, will be another 24 hour hiccup out of the year - and in approximately twenty-eight minutes, he’ll be free to slink home and forget about it.

His leg jitters uncontrollably, nerves frazzled from nicotine withdrawal and anticipation. He wants a cigarette _so fucking bad_ it hurts, but instead he grabs his vape from his jacket pocket, takes a deep drag, and disappears behind a cinnamon-scented cloud.

It’s not quite enough, but it cools his head for a second.

“Detective Reed.”

Gavin swivels around to find Connor standing directly behind him, and his face darkens into a scowl.

“The fuck do you want, Inspector Gadget?”

Connor tilts his head to the side. “I should remind you that smoking is prohibited indoors. It would be courteous of you to take your business outside in the designated area.”

“It’s my birthday,” Gavin grumbles. “Be a nice plastic dickhead and let me be for once.”

“ _Watch your mouth, Reed,_ ” Hank barks from across the room. Gavin flips him off and ignores the stream of profanities coming from Hank’s place by the copy machine. Connor stares directly at Gavin, unbothered.

“Happy Birthday, Detective, but I’m afraid that isn’t a valid exception to this rule.”

Gavin huffs and rubs his forehead in frustration. “ _Jesus,_ you’re such a fucking teacher’s pet - _fine_. Now go away.”

Connor’s LED flashes yellow for a split second.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Detective,” he replies. “Also, I’ve come to remind you that Lieutenant Anderson and I will be going over the current progress on the Jameson murders this evening, so you should expect our input sometime tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Gavin grunts, turning back to face his desk. Twenty-three minutes to go, and he’s about to crawl out of his fucking skin.

“Detective.”

Gavin rolls his eyes and groans out loud. “Fucking _hell_ , Connor, what the fuck is so _goddamn_ important that you can’t just leave me _alone_?” He runs a hand through his hair, exasperated. “I don’t have all fucking day, so just spit it out already.”

He knows he’s being petty, but he can’t stand the way Connor’s looking at him. Ever so steady and completely indifferent - a six foot ceramic doll painted to perfection with round, empty eyes and a strangely quiet demeanor. From day one and up until he declared his deviancy, Connor’s kept that permanent poker face. Even if he’s got nothing to hide.

He’s only seen Connor get angry once, and it was _not_ something he wanted to remember.

Connor blinks. “I just...I wanted to say that...you seem like you’re doing better. That’s all.”

Gavin’s stomach twists.

Since the aftermath of the android uprising last November, he knows the whole office has been watching him. Muffled whispers, curious eyes that glance away when he catches them staring, surrounded by a suffocating vigilance from every corner of the building. All _knowing_ and too afraid to say so, just in case the fragile threads holding _Poor Detective Reed_ together would snap and send him over the edge again.

On December 23rd, 2038, forty-two days after the Hart Plaza massacre, Jericho’s demand for justice had been made into law as the first compromise between man and machine. All citizens, flesh and plastic, held their breaths as Markus himself stood before Congress, speaking for the lost as he held up a broken android heart for all to see.

_“My blood is blue and this heart is made of plastic and steel, but it beat in the chest of a man who, above all things, dreamed of freedom.”_

_[for the dead cannot cry out for justice - it is the duty of the living to do so for them.]_

The shitstorm that followed raged on in the media and the streets of Washington for a solid month until President Warren had signed the last bill for android rights, and suddenly the insurrection was over. It took another three months to clear the remnants of Markus’ rebellion from the neighborhoods of Detroit, both humans and androids coming to sift through the rubble with the hope of finding a new normal. And yet, no matter how long they searched, the one thing they never found was a reason why it all happened in the first place.

Thus, the witch hunt for Elijah Kamski began.

FBI operatives set out for the first trail they could find, following the scent from CyberLife tower throughout the edges of the most isolated patches of Michigan - all the way to the halls of the DPD where Gavin stood in the break room, stirring his coffee with a fork, and smashed the rest of his life to pieces.

When they came to tell him that his brother was dead, he never thought it would happen like this. One simple question from an FBI agent who forgot to close the door and his bag of bones had finally been laid bare across the pavement. It’s been over a year, but still he's never felt so naked in his life.

He never mourned Elijah, though. Once again, Elijah had stripped him of his shot at a perfectly ordinary life, far away from his shadow, and Gavin fell apart under the cruel spotlight.

 _Kamski’s brother._  
  
_The dumb one._

_That other Kamski kid - what’s his name again?_

_...what if he turns out the same?_

When he finally had the energy to put himself back together, the first seeds of uncertainty had taken root and crept through the station. Word had gotten out, and again he was a ticking time bomb with no indicator. Gavin wishes he hadn’t been so angry, so closed off and hateful, but his reputation had already soured long ago and now everyone was too afraid he might explode.

He knows his colleagues mean well, but their sympathy didn’t stop them from walking on eggshells around him. Even Connor didn’t try to hide it, and it does nothing for his anxiety.

“I’m fine,” he mutters. “I’ve _been_ fine.”

Connor opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but he doesn’t. Instead, he gives a curt nod and strides back to Anderson’s desk in that odd little march of his, straightening his jacket and greeting Chris with a smile as he passes. Gavin watches him go, taking one more puff from the vape and lets it trickle from his lips.

Twenty-one minutes left.

The tension swells.

He’s caught up in fantasizing about tripping Connor flat on his perfect face when his phone suddenly vibrates in his pocket. With a quick glance around the room to make sure no one’s watching, he slides the phone out and pulls up his notifications.

New Message from Teeny Weenie:

 _> so i just heard a certain someone has a birthday today ;)_  
_> u need to stop fighting with connor its getting painful to watch_

He looks up from his desk to see Officer Tina Chen slouching at her desk, phone in hand and a smirk plastered on her face.

Gavin snorts and types out his response.

 **_> stfu weenie_ **  
**_> Why tf do u insist on texting me when ur literally 20 feet away_ **  
**_> Ur so extra sometimes_ **

He watches as she taps away.

 _> Bc ur a bitch and ur voice sounds like u eat dick during ur break_  
_> Nah but srsly we should celebrate_

 _**> celebrate eating dick??** _  
_**> jk. What did u have in mind?** _

_Teeny Weenie is typing…_

_> yeah Gav, did u really expect anything else_  
_> but srsly_  
_> its that new club in Midtown - it’s called Club Nightshade or something artsy like that_  
_> Idk i heard it was good - and u need to feel young again my friend_

Gavin pulls up Google, types the name in the search bar - and a shock instantly runs down his spine.

_Welcome to Club Nightshade - Detroit’s finest co-ed cabaret that caters to your deepest fantasies-_

He immediately closes the tab and scans the room nervously. No one seems to have noticed, thank _God._

**_> A strip club???_ **

_Teeny Weenie is typing…_

_> Yep :D_

_**> This may be a shock to u but I actually have some dignity left in me** _

_ > Come onnnn _  
_ > Ur just a dirty birdie in his late 30s _  
_ > Let loose and pretend ur not one year closer to death _

_**> Fuck you** _

_> :D_  
_> Does this mean you’re going_

His thumbs hesitate over the keypad.

He is so fucking lucky that Tina stayed.

Even if she roasts him to death, or steals his mugs or fights with him over the last cupcake in the break room, she's become more than just his partner on the force. She waltzed on in to his lonely little world as his sidekick, his comedic relief, the other handprint in wet concrete - and never let the last minute go to waste.

Even when he laid his life to ruin, scratching and biting at everything along the way, she grabbed him by the collar and refused to let him go.

_Yeah, Gav, you messed up. But you’re fucking stupid if you think I’m done dealing with your bullshit. You’re stuck with me and I’m gonna fucking help you whether you like it or not._

She stayed, and he owes her everything for it. And if it means letting her drag him to a strip club on a day he wished he could forget about, he wouldn’t miss it for the world.

**_> Fine._ **


End file.
